Scholarship applications currently being accepted. Applications due December 7, 2015.

Each year, the Wire Link Traveling Scholarship provides an individual in the wire industry with the unique opportunity to travel to the United States or the United Kingdom to learn about the country's wire industry. By touring companies and attending trade events, the winner will learn first-hand about the business climate, trends, challenges, and current issues influencing the wire and cable industry.

The destination alternates every year. In odd-numbered years, candidates from the U.S. are sought for the trip to the U.K. the following year. (In even years, British candidates are sought for a trip to the U.S.) The U.S. winner will spend two weeks in the U.K. visiting wire companies and the international trade fair wire Düsseldorf. A member of one of the organizations co-sponsoring the award will accompany the winner.

The scholarship will be awarded to the candidate who best demonstrates to the judges how the award will help him or her to grow professionally, gain a broadened knowledge of the industry and share those benefits with his or her company. All expenses will be met by the sponsors during the trip to the U.K., including return airfares, internal flights, all hotel accommodation, and meals. The only cost to the employer will be the employee's time in relation to the overseas stay and travel to and from the departure airport.

The award was the inspiration of several members of the "Clockwinders" Club, a group of British wire professionals who maintain a decades-long tradition of traveling to the U.S. for the annual winding of an 18th Century English long-case clock at WAI headquarters in Connecticut. The clock was a gift of the British wire industry bestowed in 1948 in appreciation of American support for Great Britain during World War II. The scholarship is intended as an extension of the continuing bond between the two nations' industries and as a way to continue fostering the special relationship between Great Britain and America.

Selection criteriaThe scholarship winner should be an individual in the early stages of his/her career within the industry who has potential to become an industry leader. The scholarship will afford the individual an opportunity to expand his/her knowledge of the wire and cable industry globally. The winner should be an individual who is expected to remain within the wire and cable industry within the United States.

The individual must have a minimum of two years experience in the wire and cable industry, ensuring some knowledge of the industry. The scholarship is intended to expand that knowledge, not to provide basic training. Nor is it intended to provide an opportunity for an individual or his/her company to copy confidential technology from England. The winner cannot be a seasoned, technical expert.

For more information contact WAI's This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: (001) 203-453-2777, ext. 121.